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Taking steps

My littlest one is figuring out what it means to take steps. In the sense of walking and movement.

My big girl is learning what it means to take steps in terms of becoming a “big kid”. She is becoming aware of the sense of responsibility that comes along with being not only a big sister, but a person in a community that is ever changing and constantly in motion.

Watching my girls in their movements has me thinking about the tides of life, and how they ebb and flow with the times and years gone by.

I moved back to the Midcoast a couple weeks before my oldest was born. We had been living just outside of LA for the beginning of my pregnancy with her, and then in Roanoke, Virginia for the rest of it. I was just barely 23 years old. and had just graduated from college the week before my daughter was born. It’s amazing to think back to that time and realize that it was a lifetime ago. So much has changed since my early twenties, the most significant being the birth of motherhood. Talking with friends and others about the differences between being a young twenty something and a older mother of daughters is truly an interesting conversation to be had. Yesterday when I stopped by my favourite cafe on my early morning walk, I talked to a friend whom I hadn’t seen for months. We both compared our lives before children and how although living in a tent and the back of a van are FUN, they certainly aren’t More fun then learning, living and loving with a couple of incredible little wild impish ones/ aka: our children.

Life seems to be all about the chapters. I can’t remember exactly where I read it, but it said something along the lines of: First, you are someone’s daughter. Then you are someone’s lover. Then you are someone’s mother. Lastly, you are a Grandmother. (A bit swift and concise, but possibly the truth. There might be some missing steps, but in the grand scheme of life, probably not many…) After realizing that so many out there are hard bent on fighting this- and the graying of their hair- I’ve decided that growing up and growing older is ok with me. Especially if it means I get to be with the friends, family and community that I’ve grown to live in and love.